Human rights 1

Human rights

Rights

Theoretical distinctions

•• Claim rights and liberty rights•• Individual and group rights•• Natural and legal rights•• Negative and positive rights

Human rights

•• Civil and political•• Economic, social and cultural•• Three generations

Rights by claimant

•• Animals•• Authors•• Children•• Fathers•• Fetuses•• Humans•• Indigenes•• Kings•• LGBT•• Men•• Minorities•• Mothers•• Plants•• Students•• Women•• Workers•• Youth

Other groups of rights

•• Civil liberties•• Digital•• Linguistic•• Reproductive

Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being."[1] Human rights are thus conceived as universal (applicable everywhere) and egalitarian (the same for everyone). These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in local, regional, national, and international law.[2] The doctrine of human rights in international practice, within international law, global and regional institutions, in the policies of states and in the activities of non-governmental organizations, has been a cornerstone of public policy around the world. The idea of human rights[3] states, "if the public discourse of peacetime global society can be said to have a common moral language, it is that of human rights." Despite this, the

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strong claims made by the doctrine of human rights continue to provoke considerable skepticism and debates aboutthe content, nature and justifications of human rights to this day. Indeed, the question of what is meant by a "right" isitself controversial and the subject of continued philosophical debate.[4]

Many of the basic ideas that animated the human rights movement developed in the aftermath of the Second WorldWar and the atrocities of The Holocaust, culminating in the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rightsin Paris by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948. The ancient world did not possess the concept of universalhuman rights.[] The true forerunner of human rights discourse was the concept of natural rights which appeared aspart of the medieval Natural law tradition that became prominent during the Enlightenment with such philosophersas John Locke, Francis Hutcheson, and Jean-Jacques Burlamaqui, and featured prominently in the political discourseof the American Revolution and the French Revolution.From this foundation, the modern human rights arguments emerged over the latter half of the twentieth century. [5]

Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of thehuman family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world...—1st sentence of the Preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human RightsAll human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.

—Article 1 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)[]

History of concept

Cyrus the great cylinder is the first human rightscylinder at world.

The Bill of Rights

The Bill of Rights (1688 or 1689)

Created 1689

Ratified December 16, 1689

Location National Archives of the United Kingdom

Author(s) Parliament of England

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Purpose Ensure certain freedoms and ensure a Protestant political supremacy.

The modern sense of human rights can be traced to Renaissance Europe and the Protestant Reformation, alongsidethe disappearance of the feudal authoritarianism and religious conservativism that dominated the Middle Ages.Human rights were defined as a result of European scholars attempting to form a "secularized version ofJudeo-Christian ethics".[] Although ideas of rights and liberty have existed in some form for much of human history,they do not resemble the modern conception of human rights. According to Jack Donnelly, in the ancient world,"traditional societies typically have had elaborate systems of duties... conceptions of justice, political legitimacy, andhuman flourishing that sought to realize human dignity, flourishing, or well-being entirely independent of humanrights. These institutions and practices are alternative to, rather than different formulations of, human rights".[] Themost commonly held view is that concept of human rights evolved in the West, and that while earlier cultures hadimportant ethical concepts, they generally lacked a concept of human rights. For example, McIntyre argues there isno word for "right" in any language before 1400.[] Medieval charters of liberty such as the English Magna Cartawere not charters of human rights, rather they were the foundation [6] and constituted a form of limited political andlegal agreement to address specific political circumstances, in the case of Magna Carta later being recognised in thecourse of early modern debates about rights.[7] One of the oldest records of human rights is the statute of Kalisz(1264), giving privileges to the Jewish minority in the Kingdom of Poland such as protection from discriminationand hate speech.[8] The basis of most modern legal interpretations of human rights can be traced back to recentEuropean history. The Twelve Articles (1525) are considered to be the first record of human rights in Europe. Theywere part of the peasants' demands raised towards the Swabian League in the German Peasants' War in Germany.Ancient societies had "elaborate systems of duties... conceptions of justice, political legitimacy, and humanflourishing that sought to realize human dignity, flourishing, or well-being entirely independent of human rights".[]

One theory for the development of the modern concept of human rights is that it was developed during the earlyModern period, alongside the European secularization of Judeo-Christian ethics.[]

The earliest conceptualization of human rights is credited to ideas about natural rights emanating from natural law.In particular, the issue of universal rights was introduced by the examination of the rights of indigenous peoples bySpanish clerics, such as Francisco de Vitoria and Bartolomé de Las Casas. In the Valladolid debate, Juan Ginés deSepúlveda, who maintained an Aristotelian view of humanity as divided into classes of different worth, argued withLas Casas, who argued in favor of equal rights to freedom of slavery for all humans regardless of race or religion.[9]

In Britain in 1683, the English Bill of Rights (or "An Act Declaring the Rights and Liberties of the Subject andSettling the Succession of the Crown") and the Scottish Claim of Right each made illegal a range of oppressivegovernmental actions. Two major revolutions occurred during the 18th century, in the United States (1776) and inFrance (1789), leading to the adoption of the United States Declaration of Independence and the French Declarationof the Rights of Man and of the Citizen respectively, both of which established certain legal rights. Additionally, theVirginia Declaration of Rights of 1776 encoded into law a number of fundamental civil rights and civil freedoms.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creatorwith certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.—United States Declaration of Independence, 1776

These were followed by developments in philosophy of human rights by philosophers such as Thomas Paine, JohnStuart Mill and G.W.F. Hegel during the 18th and 19th centuries. The term human rights probably came into usesome time between Paine's The Rights of Man and William Lloyd Garrison's 1831 writings in The Liberator, inwhich he stated that he was trying to enlist his readers in "the great cause of human rights".In the 19th century, human rights became a central concern over the issue of slavery. A number of reformers, such as William Wilberforce in Britain, worked towards the abolition of slavery. This was achieved in the British Empire by the Slave Trade Act 1807 and the Slavery Abolition Act 1833. In the United States, all the northern states had abolished the institution of slavery between 1777 and 1804, although southern states clung tightly to the "peculiar

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institution". Conflict and debates over the expansion of slavery to new territories constituted one of the reasons forthe southern states' secession and the American Civil War. During the reconstruction period immediately followingthe war, several amendments to the United States Constitution were made. These included the 13th amendment,banning slavery, the 14th amendment, assuring full citizenship and civil rights to all people born in the United States,and the 15th amendment, guaranteeing African Americans the right to vote.Many groups and movements have achieved profound social changes over the course of the 20th century in the nameof human rights. In Europe and North America, labour unions brought about laws granting workers the right tostrike, establishing minimum work conditions and forbidding or regulating child labor. The women's rightsmovement succeeded in gaining for many women the right to vote. National liberation movements in many countriessucceeded in driving out colonial powers. One of the most influential was Mahatma Gandhi's movement to free hisnative India from British rule. Movements by long-oppressed racial and religious minorities succeeded in many partsof the world, among them the African American Civil Rights Movement, and more recent diverse identity politicsmovements, on behalf of women and minorities in the United States.The establishment of the International Committee of the Red Cross, the 1864 Lieber Code and the first of the GenevaConventions in 1864 laid the foundations of International humanitarian law, to be further developed following thetwo World Wars.The World Wars, and the huge losses of life and gross abuses of human rights that took place during them, were adriving force behind the development of modern human rights instruments. The League of Nations was establishedin 1919 at the negotiations over the Treaty of Versailles following the end of World War I. The League's goalsincluded disarmament, preventing war through collective security, settling disputes between countries throughnegotiation and diplomacy, and improving global welfare. Enshrined in its charter was a mandate to promote manyof the rights later included in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.At the 1945 Yalta Conference, the Allied Powers agreed to create a new body to supplant the League's role; this wasto be the United Nations. The United Nations has played an important role in international human-rights law since itscreation. Following the World Wars, the United Nations and its members developed much of the discourse and thebodies of law that now make up international humanitarian law and international human rights law.

PhilosophyThe philosophy of human rights attempts to examine the underlying basis of the concept of human rights andcritically looks at its content and justification. Several theoretical approaches have been advanced to explain how andwhy human rights have become a part of social expectations.One of the oldest Western philosophies of human rights is that they are a product of a natural law, stemming fromdifferent philosophical or religious grounds. Other theories hold that human rights codify moral behavior which is ahuman social product developed by a process of biological and social evolution (associated with Hume). Humanrights are also described as a sociological pattern of rule setting (as in the sociological theory of law and the work ofWeber). These approaches include the notion that individuals in a society accept rules from legitimate authority inexchange for security and economic advantage (as in Rawls) – a social contract. The two theories that dominatecontemporary human rights discussion are the interest theory and the will theory. Interest theory argues that theprincipal function of human rights is to protect and promote certain essential human interests, while will theoryattempts to establish the validity of human rights based on the unique human capacity for freedom.[]

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CriticismsThe strong claims made by human rights to universality have led to persistent criticism. Philosophers who havecriticized the concept of human rights include Jeremy Bentham, Edmund Burke, Friedrich Nietzsche and Karl Marx.Political philosophy professor Charles Blattberg argues that discussion of human rights, being abstract, demotivatespeople from upholding the values that rights are meant to affirm.[10] The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy givesparticular attention to two types of criticisms: the one questioning universality of human rights and the one denyingthem objective ground.[11] Alain Pellet, an international law scholar, criticizes "human rightism" approach asdenying the principle of sovereignty and claiming a special place for human rights among the branches ofinternational law;[12] Alain de Benoist questions human rights premises of human equality.[13] David Kennedy hadlisted pragmatic worries and polemical charges concerning human rights in 2002 in Harvard Human RightsJournal.[14]

ClassificationHuman rights can be classified and organized in a number of different ways, at an international level the mostcommon categorisation of human rights has been to split them into civil and political rights, and economic, socialand cultural rights.Civil and political rights are enshrined in articles 3 to 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) andin the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Economic, social and cultural rights areenshrined in articles 22 to 28 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and in the InternationalCovenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).

IndivisibilityThe UDHR included both economic, social and cultural rights and civil and political rights because it was based onthe principle that the different rights could only successfully exist in combination:

The ideal of free human beings enjoying civil and political freedom and freedom from fear and want can onlybe achieved if conditions are created whereby everyone may enjoy his civil and political rights, as well as hissocial, economic and cultural rights.—International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic Social andCultural Rights, 1966

This is held to be true because without civil and political rights the public cannot assert their economic, social andcultural rights. Similarly, without livelihoods and a working society, the public cannot assert or make use of civil orpolitical rights (known as the full belly thesis).The indivisibility and interdependence of all human rights has been confirmed by the 1993 Vienna Declaration andProgramme of Action:

All human rights are universal, indivisible and interdependent and related. The international community musttreat human rights globally in a fair and equal manner, on the same footing, and with the same emphasis.—Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, World Conference on Human Rights, 1993

This statement was again endorsed at the 2005 World Summit in New York (paragraph 121).Although accepted by the signatories to the UDHR, most do not in practice give equal weight to the different typesof rights. Some Western cultures have often given priority to civil and political rights, sometimes at the expense ofeconomic and social rights such as the right to work, to education, health and housing. Similarly the ex Soviet bloccountries and Asian countries have tended to give priority to economic, social and cultural rights, but have oftenfailed to provide civil and political rights.

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CategorizationOpponents of the indivisibility of human rights argue that economic, social and cultural rights are fundamentallydifferent from civil and political rights and require completely different approaches. Economic, social and culturalrights are argued to be:• positive, meaning that they require active provision of entitlements by the state (as opposed to the state being

required only to prevent the breach of rights)• resource-intensive, meaning that they are expensive and difficult to provide• progressive, meaning that they will take significant time to implement• vague, meaning they cannot be quantitatively measured, and whether they are adequately provided or not is

difficult to judge• ideologically divisive/political, meaning that there is no consensus on what should and shouldn't be provided as a

right• socialist, as opposed to capitalist• non-justiciable, meaning that their provision, or the breach of them, cannot be judged in a court of law• aspirations or goals, as opposed to real 'legal' rightsSimilarly civil and political rights are categorized as:• negative, meaning the state can protect them simply by taking no action•• cost-free• immediate, meaning they can be immediately provided if the state decides to• precise, meaning their provision is easy to judge and measure•• non-ideological/non-political•• capitalist•• justiciable•• real 'legal' rights

Olivia Ball and Paul Gready argue that for both civil and political rights and economic, social and cultural rights, it iseasy to find examples which do not fit into the above categorisation. Among several others, they highlight the factthat maintaining a judicial system, a fundamental requirement of the civil right to due process before the law andother rights relating to judicial process, is positive, resource-intensive, progressive and vague, while the social rightto housing is precise, justiciable and can be a real 'legal' right.[15]

Three generationsAnother categorization, offered by Karel Vasak, is that there are three generations of human rights: first-generationcivil and political rights (right to life and political participation), second-generation economic, social and culturalrights (right to subsistence) and third-generation solidarity rights (right to peace, right to clean environment). Out ofthese generations, the third generation is the most debated and lacks both legal and political recognition. Thiscategorisation is at odds with the indivisibility of rights, as it implicitly states that some rights can exist withoutothers. Prioritisation of rights for pragmatic reasons is however a widely accepted necessity. Human rights expertPhilip Alston argues:

If every possible human rights element is deemed to be essential or necessary, then nothing will be treated asthough it is truly important.[]

He, and others, urge caution with prioritisation of rights:[T]he call for prioritizing is not to suggest that any obvious violations of rights can be ignored.—Philip Alston[]

Priorities, where necessary, should adhere to core concepts (such as reasonable attempts at progressiverealization) and principles (such as non-discrimination, equality and participation.

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—Olivia Ball, Paul Gready[16]

Some human rights are said to be "inalienable rights". The term inalienable rights (or unalienable rights) refers to "aset of human rights that are fundamental, are not awarded by human power, and cannot be surrendered."

International protectionIn the aftermath of the atrocities of World War II, there was increased concern for the social and legal protection ofhuman rights as fundamental freedoms. The foundation of the United Nations and the provisions of the UnitedNations Charter provided a basis for a comprehensive system of international law and practise for the protection ofhuman rights. Since then, international human rights law has been characterized by a linked system of conventions,treaties, organisations, and political bodies, rather than any single entity or set of laws.[]

United Nations CharterThe provisions of the United Nations Charter provided a basis for the development of international human rightsprotection.[] The preamble of the charter provides that the members "reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, inthe equal rights of men and women" and Article 1(3) of the United Nations charter states that one of the purposes ofthe UN is: "to achieve international cooperation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural, orhumanitarian character, and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedomsfor all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion".[17] Article 55 provides that:

The United Nations shall promote: a) higher standards of living, full employment, and conditions of economicand social progress and development; b) solutions of international economic, social, health, and relatedproblems; c) international cultural and educational cooperation; d) universal respect for, and observance of,human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion.

Of particular importance is Article 56 of the charter:"All Members pledge themselves to take joint and separateaction in co-operation with the Organization for the achievement of the purposes set forth in Article 55." This is abinding treaty provision applicable to both the Organisation and its members and has been taken to constitute a legalobligation for the members of the United Nations.[] Overall, the references to human rights in the Charter are generaland vague. The Charter does not contain specific legal rights, nor does it mandate any enforcement procedures toprotect these rights.[] Despite this, the significance of the espousal of human rights within the UN charter must not beunderstated. The importance of human rights on the global stage can be traced to the importance of human rightswithin the United Nations framework and the UN Charter can be seen as the starting point for the development of abroad array of declarations, treaties, implementation and enforcement mechanisms, UN organs, committees andreports on the protection of human rights.[] The rights espoused in the UN charter would be codified and defined inthe International Bill of Human Rights, composing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the InternationalCovenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

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Universal Declaration of Human Rights

"It is not a treaty...[In the future, it] may well becomethe international Magna Carta."[18] Eleanor Rooseveltwith the Spanish text of the Universal Declaration in

1949.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) wasadopted by the United Nations General Assembly[] in 1948, partlyin response to the atrocities of World War II. Although the UDHRwas a non-binding resolution, it is now considered by some tohave acquired the force of international customary law which maybe invoked in appropriate circumstances by national and otherjudiciaries.[19] The UDHR urges member nations to promote anumber of human, civil, economic and social rights, assertingthese rights as part of the "foundation of freedom, justice andpeace in the world." The declaration was the first internationallegal effort to limit the behaviour of states and press upon themduties to their citizens following the model of the rights-dutyduality.

...recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal andinalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in theworld.

—Preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948The UDHR was framed by members of the Human Rights Commission, with former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt asChair, who began to discuss an International Bill of Rights in 1947. The members of the Commission did notimmediately agree on the form of such a bill of rights, and whether, or how, it should be enforced. The Commissionproceeded to frame the UDHR and accompanying treaties, but the UDHR quickly became the priority.[] Canadianlaw professor John Humphrey and French lawyer René Cassin were responsible for much of the cross-nationalresearch and the structure of the document respectively, where the articles of the declaration were interpretative ofthe general principle of the preamble. The document was structured by Cassin to include the basic principles ofdignity, liberty, equality and brotherhood in the first two articles, followed successively by rights pertaining toindividuals; rights of individuals in relation to each other and to groups; spiritual, public and political rights; andeconomic, social and cultural rights. The final three articles place, according to Cassin, rights in the context of limits,duties and the social and political order in which they are to be realized.[] Humphrey and Cassin intended the rightsin the UDHR to be legally enforceable through some means, as is reflected in the third clause of the preamble:[]

Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion againsttyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law.—Preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948

Some of the UDHR was researched and written by a committee of international experts on human rights, includingrepresentatives from all continents and all major religions, and drawing on consultation with leaders such asMahatma Gandhi.[20][21] The inclusion of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights[][] was predicated onthe assumption that all human rights are indivisible and that the different types of rights listed are inextricably linked.This principle was not then opposed by any member states (the declaration was adopted unanimously, ByelorussianSSR, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Ukrainian SSR, Union of South Africa, USSR, Yugoslavia.); however,this principle was later subject to significant challenges.[]

The Universal Declaration was bifurcated into treaties, a Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and another onsocial, economic, and cultural rights, due to questions about the relevance and propriety of economic and socialprovisions in covenants on human rights. Both covenants begin with the right of people to self-determination and tosovereignty over their natural resources.[22] This debate over whether human rights are more fundamental thaneconomic rights has continued to the present day.

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The drafters of the Covenants initially intended only one instrument. The original drafts included only political andcivil rights, but economic and social rights were also proposed. The disagreement over which rights were basichuman rights resulted in there being two covenants. The debate was whether economic and social rights areaspirational, as contrasted with basic human rights which all people possess purely by being human, becauseeconomic and social rights depend on wealth and the availability of resources. In addition, which social andeconomic rights should be recognised depends on ideology or economic theories, in contrast to basic human rights,which are defined purely by the nature (mental and physical abilities) of human beings. It was debated whethereconomic rights were appropriate subjects for binding obligations and whether the lack of consensus over such rightswould dilute the strength of political-civil rights. There was wide agreement and clear recognition that the meansrequired to enforce or induce compliance with socio-economic undertakings were different from the means requiredfor civil-political rights.[23]

This debate and the desire for the greatest number of signatories to human-rights law led to the two covenants. TheSoviet bloc and a number of developing countries had argued for the inclusion of all rights in a so-called UnityResolution. Both covenants allowed states to derogate some rights.[citation needed] Those in favor of a single treatycould not gain sufficient consensus.[24][25]

International treatiesIn 1966, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant onEconomic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) were adopted by the United Nations, between them making therights contained in the UDHR binding on all states that have signed this treaty, creating human-rights law.Since then numerous other treaties (pieces of legislation) have been offered at the international level. They aregenerally known as human rights instruments. Some of the most significant, referred to (with ICCPR and ICESCR)as "the seven core treaties", are:• Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) (adopted 1966, entry into force:

1969)• Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) (adopted 1979, entry

into force: 1981)• United Nations Convention Against Torture (CAT) (adopted 1984, entry into force: 1984)• Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) (adopted 1989, entry into force: 1989)• Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) (adopted 2006, entry into force: 2008)• International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families

(ICRMW or more often MWC) (adopted 1990, entry into force: 2003)

Customary international lawIn addition to protection by international treaties, customary international law may protect some human rights, suchas the prohibition of torture, genocide and slavery and the principle of non-discrimination.[26]

International humanitarian lawThe Geneva Conventions came into being between 1864 and 1949 as a result of efforts by Henry Dunant, thefounder of the International Committee of the Red Cross. The conventions safeguard the human rights of individualsinvolved in armed conflict, and build on the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907, the international community'sfirst attempt to formalize the laws of war and war crimes in the nascent body of secular international law. Theconventions were revised as a result of World War II and readopted by the international community in 1949.

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United Nations system

Structure of the United Nations Human RightsBodies and Mechanisms

Under the mandate of the UN charter, the and the multilateral UNhuman rights treaties, the United Nations (UN) as anintergovernmental body seeks to apply international jurisdiction foruniversal human-rights legislation.[27] Within the UN machinery,human-rights issues are primarily the concern of the United NationsSecurity Council and the United Nations Human Rights Council, andthere are numerous committees within the UN with responsibilities forsafeguarding different human-rights treaties. The most senior body ofthe UN in the sphere of human rights is the Office of the HighCommissioner for Human Rights. The United Nations has aninternational mandate to:

achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural, orhumanitarian character, and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamentalfreedoms for all without distinction as to race, gender, language, or religion.—Article 1–3 of the United Nations Charter

Political bodies

Security Council

The United Nations Security Council has the primary responsibility for maintaining international peace andsecurity and is the only body of the UN that can authorize the use of force. It has been criticised for failing to takeaction to prevent human rights abuses, including the Darfur crisis, the Srebrenica massacre and the RwandanGenocide.[28] For example, critics blamed the presence of non-democracies on the Security Council for its failureregarding.[29]

On April 28, 2006 the Security Council adopted resolution 1674 that reaffirmed the responsibility to protectpopulations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity" and committed the SecurityCouncil to action to protect civilians in armed conflict.[30]

General Assembly

The UN General Assembly

The United Nations General Assembly, under Article 13 of the UNCharter, has the power to initiate studies and make recommendationson human rights issues.[] Under this provision, the general assemblypassed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, and sincethen a wide variety of other human rights instruments.[] The assemblyhas several subsidiary organs that deal with specific human rightsissues, such as the Special Committee on Decolonisation and theSpecial Commission against Apartheid (no longer operational). Inaddition the general assembly has set up a number of subsidiary organsthat consider human rights issues in a number of high-profile contexts: such as the UN Council on Namibia, theSpecial Committee to Investigate Israeli Practises in the Occupied territories and the Committee on the Exercise ofthe Inalienable rights of the Palestine People.[31]

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Human Rights Council

The United Nations Human Rights Council, created at the 2005 World Summit to replace the United NationsCommission on Human Rights, has a mandate to investigate violations of human rights.[32] The Human RightsCouncil is a subsidiary body of the General Assembly[33] and reports directly to it. It ranks below the SecurityCouncil, which is the final authority for the interpretation of the United Nations Charter.[34] Forty-seven of the onehundred ninety-one member states sit on the council, elected by simple majority in a secret ballot of the UnitedNations General Assembly. Members serve a maximum of six years and may have their membership suspended forgross human rights abuses. The Council is based in Geneva, and meets three times a year; with additional meetingsto respond to urgent situations.[35]

Independent experts (rapporteurs) are retained by the Council to investigate alleged human rights abuses and toprovide the Council with reports.The Human Rights Council may request that the Security Council take action when human rights violations occur.This action may be direct actions, may involve sanctions, and the Security Council may also refer cases to theInternational Criminal Court (ICC) even if the issue being referred is outside the normal jurisdiction of the ICC.[36]

Treaty bodies

In addition to the political bodies whose mandate flows from the UN charter, the UN has set up a number oftreaty-based bodies, comprising committees of independent experts who monitor compliance with human rightsstandards and norms flowing from the core international human rights treaties. They are supported by and are createdby the treaty that they monitor, With the exception of the CESCR, which was established under a resolution of theEconomic and Social Council to carry out the monitoring functions originally assigned to that body under theCovenant, they are technically autonomous bodies, established by the treaties that they monitor and accountable tothe state parties of those treaties - rather than subsidiary to the United Nations. Though in practise they are closelyintertwined with the United Nations system and are supported by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights(UNHCHR) and the UN Center for Human Rights.[37]

• The Human Rights Committee promotes participation with the standards of the ICCPR. The eighteen members ofthe committee express opinions on member countries and make judgments on individual complaints againstcountries which have ratified an Optional Protocol to the treaty. The judgments, termed "views", are not legallybinding.

• The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights monitors the ICESCR and makes general comments onratifying countries performance. It will have the power to receive complaints against the countries that opted intothe Optional Protocol once it has come into force. It is important to note that unlike the other treaty bodies, theeconomic committee is not an autonomous body responsible to the treaty parties, but directly responsible to theEconomic and Social Council and ultimately to the General Assembly. This means that the Economic Committeefaces particular difficulties at its disposal only relatively "weak" means of implementation in comparison to othertreaty bodies.[] Particular difficulties noted by commentators include: perceived vagueness of the principles of thetreaty, relative lack of legal texts and decisions, ambivalence of many states in addressing economic, social andcultural rights, comparatively few non-governmental organisations focused on the area and problems withobtaining relevant and precise information.[][38]

• The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination monitors the CERD and conducts regular reviews ofcountries' performance. It can make judgments on complaints against member states allowing it, but these are notlegally binding. It issues warnings to attempt to prevent serious contraventions of the convention.

• The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women monitors the CEDAW. It receives states'reports on their performance and comments on them, and can make judgments on complaints against countrieswhich have opted into the 1999 Optional Protocol.

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• The Committee Against Torture monitors the CAT and receives states' reports on their performance every fouryears and comments on them. Its subcommittee may visit and inspect countries which have opted into theOptional Protocol.

• The Committee on the Rights of the Child monitors the CRC and makes comments on reports submitted by statesevery five years. It does not have the power to receive complaints.

• The Committee on Migrant Workers was established in 2004 and monitors the ICRMW and makes comments onreports submitted by states every five years. It will have the power to receive complaints of specific violationsonly once ten member states allow it.

• The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was established in 2008 to monitor the Convention onthe Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It has the power to receive complaints against the countries which haveopted into the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Each treaty body receives secretariat support from the Human Rights Council and Treaties Division of Office of theHigh Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR) in Geneva except CEDAW, which is supported by the Division forthe Advancement of Women (DAW). CEDAW formerly held all its sessions at United Nations headquarters in NewYork but now frequently meets at the United Nations Office in Geneva; the other treaty bodies meet in Geneva. TheHuman Rights Committee usually holds its March session in New York City.

Regional human rights regimesInternational human rights regime's are in several cases "nested" within more comprehensive and overlappingregional agreements. These regional regimes can be seen as relatively independently coherent human rightssub-regimes.[39] Three principle regional human rights instruments can be identified, the African Charter on Humanand Peoples' Rights, the American Convention on Human Rights (the Americas) and the European Convention onHuman Rights. The European Convention on Human Rights has since 1950 defined and guaranteed human rightsand fundamental freedoms in Europe.[] All 47 member states of the Council of Europe have signed the Conventionand are therefore under the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.[]

Non-governmental actors

Non-governmental OrganizationsInternational non-governmental human rights organizations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch,International Service for Human Rights and FIDH monitor what they see as human rights issues around the worldand promote their views on the subject. Human rights organizations have been said to ""translate complexinternational issues into activities to be undertaken by concerned citizens in their own community".[40] Human rightsorganizations frequently engage in lobbying and advocacy in an effort to convince the United Nations, supranationalbodies and national governments to adopt their policies on human rights. Many human-rights organizations haveobserver status at the various UN bodies tasked with protecting human rights. A new (in 2009) nongovernmentalhuman-rights conference is the Oslo Freedom Forum, a gathering described by The Economist as "on its way tobecoming a human-rights equivalent of the Davos economic forum." The same article noted that human-rightsadvocates are more and more divided amongst themselves over how violations of human rights are to be defined,notably as regards the Middle East.[41]

There is criticism of human-rights organisations who use their status but allegedly move away from their statedgoals. For example, Gerald M. Steinberg, an Israel-based academic, maintains that NGOs take advantage of a "haloeffect" and are "given the status of impartial moral watchdogs" by governments and the media.[42] Such critics claimthat this may be seen at various governmental levels, including when human-rights groups testify beforeinvestigation committees.[43]

Human rights 13

Human rights defendersA human rights defender is someone who, individually or with others, acts to promote or protect human rights.Human rights defenders are those men and women who act peacefully for the promotion and protection of thoserights.

CorporationsMultinational companies play an increasingly large role in the world, and have been responsible for numeroushuman rights abuses.[44] Although the legal and moral environment surrounding the actions of governments isreasonably well developed, that surrounding multinational companies is both controversial and ill-defined.[citation

needed] Multinational companies' primary responsibility is to their shareholders, not to those affected by their actions.Such companies may be larger than the economies of some of the states within which they operate, and can wieldsignificant economic and political power. No international treaties exist to specifically cover the behavior ofcompanies with regard to human rights, and national legislation is very variable. Jean Ziegler, Special Rapporteur ofthe UN Commission on Human Rights on the right to food stated in a report in 2003:

[T]he growing power of transnational corporations and their extension of power through privatization,deregulation and the rolling back of the State also mean that it is now time to develop binding legal norms thathold corporations to human rights standards and circumscribe potential abuses of their position of power.—Jean Ziegler[45]

In August 2003 the Human Rights Commission's Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of HumanRights produced draft Norms on the responsibilities of transnational corporations and other business enterpriseswith regard to human rights.[46] These were considered by the Human Rights Commission in 2004, but have nobinding status on corporations and are not monitored.[47]

Human rights violationsHuman rights violations occur when actions by state (or non-state) actors abuse, ignore, or deny basic human rights(including civil, political, cultural, social, and economic rights). Furthermore, violations of human rights can occurwhen any state or non-state actor breaches any part of the UDHR treaty or other international human rights orhumanitarian law. In regard to human rights violations of United Nations laws, Article 39 of the United NationsCharter designates the UN Security Council (or an appointed authority) as the only tribunal that may determine UNhuman rights violations.Human rights abuses are monitored by United Nations committees, national institutions and governments and bymany independent non-governmental organizations, such as Amnesty International, International Federation ofHuman Rights, Human Rights Watch, World Organisation Against Torture, Freedom House, International Freedomof Expression Exchange and Anti-Slavery International. These organisations collect evidence and documentation ofalleged human rights abuses and apply pressure to enforce human rights laws.Wars of aggression, war crimes and crimes against humanity, including genocide, are breaches of Internationalhumanitarian law and represent the most serious of human rights violations.In efforts to eliminate violations of human rights, building awareness and protesting inhumane treatment has oftenled to calls for action and sometimes improved conditions. The UN Security Council has interceded with peacekeeping forces, and other states and treaties (NATO) have intervened in situations to protect human rights.

Human rights 14

Substantive rights

Right to lifeEvery human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No one shall bearbitrarily deprived of his life.—Article 6.1 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

The right to life is the essential right that a human being has the right not to be killed by another human being. Theconcept of a right to life is central to debates on the issues of abortion, capital punishment, euthanasia, self defenseand war. According to many human rights activists, the death penalty violates this right.[48] The United Nations hascalled on states retaining the death penalty to establish a moratorium on capital punishment with a view to itsabolition.[49] States which do not do so face considerable moral and political pressure.

Freedom from tortureThroughout history, torture has been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, andcoercion. In addition to state-sponsored torture, individuals or groups may be motivated to inflict torture on othersfor similar reasons to those of a state; however, the motive for torture can also be for the sadistic gratification of thetorturer, as in the Moors murders.Torture is prohibited under international law and the domestic laws of most countries in the 21st century. It isconsidered to be a violation of human rights, and is declared to be unacceptable by Article 5 of the UN UniversalDeclaration of Human Rights. Signatories of the Third Geneva Convention and Fourth Geneva Convention officiallyagree not to torture prisoners in armed conflicts. Torture is also prohibited by the United Nations ConventionAgainst Torture, which has been ratified by 147 states.[50]

National and international legal prohibitions on torture derive from a consensus that torture and similar ill-treatmentare immoral, as well as impractical.[51] Despite these international conventions, organizations that monitor abuses ofhuman rights (e.g. Amnesty International, the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims) reportwidespread use condoned by states in many regions of the world.[52] Amnesty International estimates that at least 81world governments currently practice torture, some of them openly.[]

Freedom from slaveryFreedom from slavery is an internationally recognized human right. Article 4 of the Universal Declaration of HumanRights states:

No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all theirforms.[53]

Despite this, the number of slaves today is higher than at any point in history,[] remaining as high as 12 million[] to27 million,[][][] Most are debt slaves, largely in South Asia, who are under debt bondage incurred by lenders,sometimes even for generations.[] Human trafficking is primarily for prostituting women and children into sexindustries.[]

Groups such as the American Anti-Slavery Group, Anti-Slavery International, Free the Slaves, the Anti-SlaverySociety, and the Norwegian Anti-Slavery Society continue to campaign to rid the world of slavery.

Human rights 15

Right to a fair trialEveryone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in thedetermination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.[]

The right to a fair trial has been defined in numerous regional and international human rights instruments. It is one ofthe most extensive human rights and all international human rights instruments enshrine it in more than onearticle.[54] The right to a fair trial is one of the most litigated human rights and substantial case law has beenestablished on the interpretation of this human right.[55] Despite variations in wording and placement of the variousfair trial rights, international human rights instrument define the right to a fair trial in broadly the same terms.[56] Theaim of the right is to ensure the proper administration of justice. As a minimum the right to fair trial includes thefollowing fair trial rights in civil and criminal proceedings:[]

•• the right to be heard by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal•• the right to a public hearing•• the right to be heard within a reasonable time• the right to counsel• the right to interpretation[]

Freedom of speechFreedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. The term freedom of expression is sometimesused synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of themedium used. In practice, the right to freedom of speech is not absolute in any country and the right is commonlysubject to limitations, such as on libel, slander, obscenity, incitement to commit a crime, etc. The right to freedom ofexpression is recognized as a human right under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights andrecognized in international human rights law in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).Article 19 of the ICCPR states that "[e]veryone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference" and"everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impartinformation and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, orthrough any other media of his choice".

Freedom of thought, conscience and religionEveryone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to changehis religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, tomanifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.—Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

Freedom of thought, conscience and religion are closely related rights that protect the freedom of an individual orcommunity, in public or private, to think and freely hold conscientious beliefs and to manifest religion or belief inteaching, practice, worship, and observance; the concept is generally recognized also to include the freedom tochange religion or not to follow any religion.[57] The freedom to leave or discontinue membership in a religion orreligious group—in religious terms called "apostasy"—is also a fundamental part of religious freedom, covered byArticle 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.[58]

Human rights groups such as Amnesty International organises campaigns to protect those arrested and orincarcerated as a prisoner of conscience because of their conscientious beliefs, particularly concerning intellectual,political and artistic freedom of expression and association.[59] In legislation, a conscience clause is a provision in astatute that excuses a health professional from complying with the law (for example legalising surgical orpharmaceutical abortion) if it is incompatible with religious or conscientious beliefs.[60]

Human rights 16

Rights debatesEvents and new possibilities can affect existing rights or require new ones. Advances of technology, medicine, andphilosophy constantly challenge the status quo of human rights thinking.

Right to keep and bear arms

The right to keep and bear arms for defense is described in the philosophical and political writings of Aristotle,Cicero, John Locke, Machiavelli, the English Whigs and others.[61] In countries with an English common lawtradition, a long standing common law right to keep and bear arms has long been recognized, as pre-existing incommon law, prior even to the existence of national constitutions.[]

Future generations

In 1997 UNESCO adopted the Declaration on the Responsibilities of the Present Generation Towards the FutureGeneration. The Declaration opens with the words:

Mindful of the will of the peoples, set out solemnly in the Charter of the United Nations, to 'save succeedinggenerations from the scourge of war' and to safeguard the values and principles enshrined in the UniversalDeclaration of Human Rights, and all other relevant instruments of international law.—Declaration on the Responsibilities of the Present Generation Towards the Future Generation

Article 1 of the declaration states "the present generations have the responsibility of ensuring that the needs andinterests of present and future generations are fully safeguarded." The preamble to the declaration states that "at thispoint in history, the very existence of humankind and its environment are threatened" and the declaration covers avariety of issues including protection of the environment, the human genome, biodiversity, cultural heritage, peace,development, and education. The preamble recalls that the responsibilities of the present generations towards futuregenerations has been referred to in various international instruments, including the Convention for the Protection ofthe World Cultural and Natural Heritage (UNESCO 1972), the United Nations Framework Convention on ClimateChange and the Convention on Biological Diversity (Rio de Janeiro, 1992), the Rio Declaration on Environment andDevelopment (UN Conference on Environment and Development, 1992), the Vienna Declaration and Programme ofAction (World Conference on Human Rights, 1993) and a number of UN General Assembly resolutions relating tothe protection of the global climate for present and future generations adopted since 1990.[62]

Sexual orientation and gender identity

Sexual orientation and gender identity rights relate to the expression of sexual orientation and gender identity basedon the right to respect for private life and the right not to be discriminated against on the ground of "other status" asdefined in various human rights conventions, such as article 17 and 26 in the United Nations International Covenanton Civil and Political Rights and article 8 and article 14 in the European Convention on Human Rights.Through the way many because of their religious beliefs claim that they support human rights in general whiledenying that LGBT rights are human rights, LGBT rights stand prominent in the very defense of the universalprinciple of the human rights. If human rights are understood in a way that makes it possible to exclude the basicrights of certain groups only because of certain religious and cultural prejudices, we find that the principle ofuniversality is taken right out of the human rights, and human rights are transformed to a set of rules only reflectingcertain historically values.[63]

Homosexuality is illegal in 76 countries[citation needed], and is punishable by execution in seven countries.[64] Thecriminalization of private, consensual, adult sexual relations, especially in countries where corporal or capitalpunishment is involved, is one of the primary concerns of LGBT human rights advocates.[65]

Other issues include: government recognition of same-sex relationships, LGBT adoption, sexual orientation andmilitary service, immigration equality, anti-discrimination laws, hate crime laws regarding violence against LGBTpeople, sodomy laws, anti-lesbianism laws, and equal age of consent for same-sex activity.[66][67][68][69][70][71]

Human rights 17

A global charter for sexual orientation and gender identity rights has been proposed in the form of the 'YogyakartaPrinciples', a set of 29 principles whose authors say they apply International Human Rights Law statutes andprecedent to situations relevant to LGBT people's experience.[72] The principles were presented at a United Nationsevent in New York on November 7, 2007, co-sponsored by Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay.The principles have been acknowledged with influencing the French proposed UN declaration on sexual orientationand gender identity, which focuses on ending violence, criminalization and capital punishment and does not includedialogue about same-sex marriage or right to start a family.[73][74] The proposal was supported by 67 of the then 192member countries of the United Nations, including all EU member states and the United States. An alternativestatement opposing the proposal was initiated by Syria and signed by 57 member nations, including all 27 nations ofthe Arab League as well as Iran and North Korea.[75][76]

Trade

Although both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social andCultural Rights emphasize the importance of a right to work, neither of these documents explicitly mention trade as amechanism for ensuring this fundamental right. And yet trade plays a key role in providing jobs.[77]

Some experts argue that trade is inherent to human nature and that when governments inhibit international trade theydirectly inhibit the right to work and the other indirect benefits, like the right to education, that increased work andinvestment help accrue.[78] Others have argued that the ability to trade does not affect everyone equally—oftengroups like the rural poor, indigenous groups and women are less likely to access the benefits of increased trade.[79]

On the other hand, others think that it is no longer primarily individuals but companies that trade, and therefore itcannot be guaranteed as a human right.[citation needed] Additionally, trying to fit too many concepts under the umbrellaof what qualifies as a human right has the potential to dilute their importance. Finally, it is difficult to define a rightto trade as either "fair"[80] or "just" in that the current trade regime produces winners and losers but its reform islikely to produce (different) winners and losers.[81]

Water

In November 2002, the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights issued a non-bindingcomment affirming that access to water was a human right:

the human right to water is indispensable for leading a life in human dignity. It is a prerequisite for therealization of other human rights.—United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

This principle was reaffirmed at the 3rd and 4th World Water Councils in 2003 and 2006. This marks a departurefrom the conclusions of the 2nd World Water Forum in The Hague in 2000, which stated that water was acommodity to be bought and sold, not a right.[82] There are calls from many NGOs and politicians to enshrine accessto water as a binding human right, and not as a commodity.[83][84] According to the United Nations, nearly 900million people lack access to clean water and more than 2.6 billion people lack access to basic sanitation. On July 28,2010, the UN declared water and sanitation as human rights. By declaring safe and clean drinking water andsanitation as a human right, the U.N. General Assembly made a step towards the Millennium Development Goal toensure environmental sustainability, which in part aims to "halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population withoutsustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation".

Human rights 18

Reproductive rights

Reproductive rights are rights relating to reproduction and reproductive health.[] The World Health Organisationdefines reproductive rights as follows:

Reproductive rights rest on the recognition of the basic right of all couples and individuals to decide freely andresponsibly the number, spacing and timing of their children and to have the information and means to do so,and the right to attain the highest standard of sexual and reproductive health. They also include the right of allto make decisions concerning reproduction free of discrimination, coercion and violence.—World Health Organisation[]

Reproductive rights were first established as a subset of human rights at the United Nations 1968 InternationalConference on Human Rights.[] The sixteenth article of the resulting Proclamation of Teheran states, "Parents have abasic human right to determine freely and responsibly the number and the spacing of their children."[][]

Reproductive rights may include some or all of the following rights: the right to legal or safe abortion, the right tocontrol one's reproductive functions, the right to quality reproductive healthcare, and the right to education andaccess in order to make reproductive choices free from coercion, discrimination, and violence.[]

Reproductive rights may also be understood to include education about contraception and sexually transmittedinfections, and freedom from coerced sterilization and contraception, protection from gender-based practices such asfemale genital cutting (FGC) and male genital mutilation (MGM).[][][][85]

Information and communication technologies

In October 2009, Finland's Ministry of Transport and Communications announced that every person in Finlandwould have the legal right to Internet access.[86] Since July 2010, the government has legally obligatedtelecommunications companies to offer broadband Internet access to every permanent residence and office. Theconnection must be "reasonably priced" and have a downstream rate of at least 1 Mbit/s.[87]

In March 2010, the BBC, having commissioned an opinion poll, reported that "almost four in five people around theworld believe that access to the internet is a fundamental right."[88] The poll, conducted by the polling companyGlobeScan for the BBC World Service, collated the answers of 27,973 adult citizens across 26 countries to find that79% of adults either strongly agreed or somewhat agreed with the statement: "access to the internet should be afundamental right of all people".[89]

Relationship with other topics

Human rights and the environmentThere are two basic conceptions of environmental human rights in the current human rights system. The first is thatthe right to a healthy or adequate environment is itself a human right (as seen in both Article 24 of the AfricanCharter on Human and Peoples' Rights, and Article 11 of the San Salvador Protocol to the American Convention onHuman Rights).[90][91] The second conception is the idea that environmental human rights can be derived from otherhuman rights, usually – the right to life, the right to health, the right to private family life and the right to property(among many others). This second theory enjoys much more widespread use in human rights courts around theworld, as those rights are contained in many human rights documents.The onset of various environmental issues, especially climate change, has created potential conflicts betweendifferent human rights. Human rights ultimately require a working ecosystem and healthy environment, but thegranting of certain rights to individuals may damage these. Such as the conflict between right to decide number ofoffspring and the common need for a healthy environment, as noted in the tragedy of the commons.[92] In the area ofenvironmental rights, the responsibilities of multinational corporations, so far relatively unaddressed by human rightslegislation, is of paramount consideration.[citation needed]

Human rights 19

Environmental rights revolve largely around the idea of a right to a livable environment both for the present and thefuture generations.

National securityWith the exception of non-derogable human rights (international conventions class the right to life, the right to befree from slavery, the right to be free from torture and the right to be free from retroactive application of penal lawsas non-derogable),[] the UN recognises that human rights can be limited or even pushed aside during times ofnational emergency – although

the emergency must be actual, affect the whole population and the threat must be to the very existence of thenation. The declaration of emergency must also be a last resort and a temporary measure.—United Nations. The Resource[]

Rights that cannot be derogated for reasons of national security in any circumstances are known as peremptorynorms or jus cogens. Such United Nations Charter obligations are binding on all states and cannot be modified bytreaty.Examples of national security being used to justify human rights violations include the Japanese Americaninternment during World War II,[93] Stalin's Great Purge,[94] and the modern-day abuses of terror suspects rights bysome countries, often in the name of the War on Terror.[95][96]

Relativism and universalism

Relativists argue that human rights must avoid pushingthe values of a single culture at the expense of others."The White Man's Burden" is seen as an example of

the West using the spread of Western culture as ajustification for colonization.

The UDHR enshrines universal rights that apply to all humansequally, whichever geographical location, state, race or culturethey belong to. However, in academia there is a dispute betweenscholars that advocate moral relativism and scholars that advocatemoral universalism. Relativists do not argue against human rights,but concede that human rights are social constructed and areshaped by cultural and environmental contexts. Universalists arguethat human rights have always existed, and apply to all peopleregardless of culture, race, sex, or religion.

More specifically, proponents of cultural relativism argue foracceptance of different cultures, which may have practicesconflicting with human rights. Relativists caution thatuniversalism could be used as a form of cultural, economic orpolitical imperialism. The White Man's Burden is used as an example of imperialism and the destruction of localcultures justified by the desire to spread Eurocentric values.[97] In particular, the concept of human rights is oftenclaimed to be fundamentally rooted in a politically liberal outlook which, although generally accepted in Europe,Japan or North America, is not necessarily taken as standard elsewhere.[citation needed]

Opponents of relativism argue that some practices exist that violate the norms of all human cultures. A commonexample is female genital mutilation, which occurs in different cultures in Africa, Asia and South America [citation

needed]. It is not mandated

Human rights 20

Universalists argue that some practices violate thenorms of all human cultures. They point out that

although Female genital mutilation is prevalent inAfrica, no religion supports the practice, and the

tradition is in violation of women's rights.

by any religion, but has become a tradition in many cultures. It isconsidered a violation of women's and girl's rights by much of theinternational community, and is outlawed in some countries.

The former Prime Ministers of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, and ofMalaysia, Mahathir bin Mohamad both claimed in the 1990s thatAsian values were significantly different from Western values andincluded a sense of loyalty and foregoing personal freedoms forthe sake of social stability and prosperity, and thereforeauthoritarian government is more appropriate in Asia thandemocracy. Lee Kuan Yew argued that:

What Asians value may not necessarily be what Americansor Europeans value. Westerners value the freedoms andliberties of the individual. As an Asian of Chinese culturalbackground, my values are for a government which ishonest, effective, and efficient.

—Lee Kuan Yew, 'Democracy, Human Rights and the Realities', Tokyo, Nov 10, 1992[98]

In response, critics have pointed out that cultural relativism could be used as a justification for authoritarianism. Anexample is in 1981, when the Iranian representative to the United Nations, Said Rajaie-Khorassani, articulated theposition of his country regarding the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by saying that the UDHR was "asecular understanding of the Judeo-Christian tradition", which could not be implemented by Muslims withouttrespassing the Islamic law.[99] The Asian Values argument was criticized by Mahathir's former deputy:

To say that freedom is Western or unAsian is to offend our traditions as well as our forefathers, who gave theirlives in the struggle against tyranny and injustices.—A. Ibrahim in his keynote speech to the Asian Press Forum title Media and Society in Asia, December 2,1994

and by Singapore's opposition leader Chee Soon Juan, who states that it is racist to assert that Asians do not wanthuman rights.[100]

Defenders of moral universalism argue that relativistic arguments neglect the fact that modern human rights are newto all cultures, dating back no further than the UDHR in 1948. They argue that the UDHR was drafted by peoplefrom many different cultures and traditions, including a US Roman Catholic, a Chinese Confucian philosopher, aFrench zionist and a representative from the Arab League, amongst others, and drew upon advice from thinkers suchas Mahatma Gandhi.[] Michael Ignatieff has argued that cultural relativism is almost exclusively an argument usedby those who wield power in cultures which commit human rights abuses, and that those whose human rights arecompromised are the powerless.[101] This reflects the fact that the difficulty in judging universalism versus relativismlies in who is claiming to represent a particular culture.Although the argument between universalism and relativism is far from complete, it is an academic discussion in thatall international human rights instruments adhere to the principle that human rights are universally applicable. The2005 World Summit reaffirmed the international community's adherence to this principle:

The universal nature of human rights and freedoms is beyond question.—2005 World Summit, paragraph 121

Human rights 21

References[1] (http:/ / www. hrea. org/ erc/ Library/ display_doc. php?url=http:/ / www. hrc. upeace. org/ files/

human%20rights%20reference%20handbook. pdf& external=N)[6] Danny Danziger & John Gillingham, "1215: The Year of Magna Carta"(2004 paperback edition) p278[8][8] Isaac Lewin, The Jewish community in Poland, Philosophical Library, the University of Michigan, 1985 p.19[11] Andrew Fagan Philosophical criticisms of human rights (http:/ / www. iep. utm. edu/ hum-rts/ #H5) Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Human Rights 2003-2005[12] Alain Pellet "Droits-de-l’hommisme" et droit international (http:/ / www. droits-fondamentaux. org/ spip. php?article27) 2000[13] Alain de Benoist Au-dela des droits de l'homme (http:/ / www. alaindebenoist. com/ pdf/ au-dela_des_droits_de_l_homme. pdf) Krisis 2004;

Religion of Human Rights, 1988 (http:/ / www. velesova-sloboda. org/ misc/ benoist-die-religion-der-menschenrechte. html) (http:/ / www.velesova-sloboda. org/ polit/ benoist-religiya-prav-cheloveka. html)

[14] The International Human Rights Movement: Part of the Problem? (http:/ / www. law. harvard. edu/ students/ orgs/ hrj/ iss15/ kennedy.shtml#fn1) Harvard Human Rights Journal / Vol. 15, Spring 2002

[17] (http:/ / www1. umn. edu/ humanrts/ instree/ chapter1. html) United Nations Charter Article 1(3).[19][19] Ball, Gready.[20][20] Glendon (2001).[22] Henkin, Louis. The International Bill of Rights: The Universal Declaration and the Covenants, in International Enforcement of Human

Rights 6–9, Bernhardt and Jolowicz, eds, (1987).[23] Henkin, Louis. Introduction, The International Bill of Rights 9–10 (1981).[28] Fred Grünfeld and Anke Huijboom, The failure to prevent genocide in Rwanda: the role of bystanders (2007) p. 199[29] Lee Feinstein, Darfur and beyond: what is needed to prevent mass atrocities (2007) p. 46[30] Security Council passes landmark resolution – world has responsibility to protect people from genocide (http:/ / www. oxfam. org/ en/ news/

pressreleases2006/ pr060428_un) Oxfam Press Release - April 28, 2006[34][34] UN Charter, Article 39[36] The Security Council referred the human rights situation in Darfur in Sudan to the ICC despite the fact that Sudan has a functioning legal

system[49][49] United Nations resolution 62/149.[52] Amnesty International Report 2005 (http:/ / web. amnesty. org/ library/ index/ engPOL100012005) Report 2006 (http:/ / web. archive. org/

web/ 20070317170847/ http:/ / web. amnesty. org/ report2006/ 2af-summary-eng)[57] Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 18.[59] For example see Jan Brabec, Václav Havel, Ivan Lamper, David Nemec, Petr Placak, Joska Skalnik et al. "Prisoners of Conscience" (http:/ /

www. nybooks. com/ articles/ 4151). New York Review of Books. 1989; 36 (1) February 2. Accessed October 18, 2009.[60] Katherine White. Crisis of Conscience: Reconciling Religious Health Care Providers' Beliefs and Patients' Rights. Stanford Law Review

1999; 51: 1703–1724.[63] Dag Øistein Endsjø. “Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights and the religious relativism of human rights” (http:/ / www. springerlink.

com/ content/ bbgl735nwh725y05/ ). Human Rights Review, 6:2, 2005: 102-10.[68] http:/ / www. barackobama. com/ pdf/ lgbt. pdf[84] Water Justice (http:/ / www. tni. org/ work-area/ water-justice).[92] Garrett Hardin, "The Tragedy of the Commons" (http:/ / www. sciencemag. org/ cgi/ content/ full/ 162/ 3859/ 1243), Science, Vol. 162, No.

3859 (December 13, 1968), pp. 1243–1248. Also available here (http:/ / www. sciencemag. org/ cgi/ reprint/ 162/ 3859/ 1243. pdf) and here.(http:/ / www. garretthardinsociety. org/ articles/ art_tragedy_of_the_commons. html)

[97] "Eurocentrism". In Encyclopedia of the Developing World. Ed. Thomas M. Leonard, Taylor & Francis, 2006, ISBN 0-415-97662-6, p. 636.[98] Halper, Stefan. The Beijing consensus. p 133[99][99] Littman (1999)

Human rights 22

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Articles• Alston, Philip (August 2005). "Ships Passing in the Night: The Current State of the Human Rights and

Development Debate seen through the Lens of the Millennium Development Goals". Human Rights Quarterly 27(3): 755–829. doi: 10.1353/hrq.2005.0030 (http:/ / dx. doi. org/ 10. 1353/ hrq. 2005. 0030).

• Endsjø, Dag Øistein (2005). "Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights and the religious relativism of humanrights" (http:/ / www. springerlink. com/ content/ bbgl735nwh725y05/ ). Human Rights Review 6:2 (2): 102–10.doi: 10.1007/s12142-005-1020-1 (http:/ / dx. doi. org/ 10. 1007/ s12142-005-1020-1).

• Glendon, Mary Ann (April 2004). "The Rule of Law in The Universal Declaration of Human Rights" (http:/ /www. law. northwestern. edu/ journals/ jihr/ v2/ 5/ #note1). Northwestern University Journal of InternationalHuman Rights 2: 5.

Human rights 23

Online• Nickel, James (2010). "Human Rights" (http:/ / plato. stanford. edu/ entries/ rights-human/ ). The Stanford

Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2010 ed.).• Fagan, Andrew (2005). "Human Rights" (http:/ / www. iep. utm. edu/ hum-rts/ ). The Internet Encyclopedia of

Philosophy. ISSN  2161-0002 (http:/ / www. worldcat. org/ issn/ 2161-0002).

Miscellaneous• Roosevelt, Eleanor (December 9, 1948). On the Adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (http:/ /

www. americanrhetoric. com/ speeches/ eleanorrooseveltdeclarationhumanrights. htm) (Speech). Third regularsession of the United Nations General Assembly. Paris, France.

• Universal Declaration of Human Rights (http:/ / www. unhcr. org/ refworld/ docid/ 3ae6b3712c. html). UNGeneral Assembly. December 10, 1948. 217 A (III)

Further reading•• Abouharb, R. and D. Cingranelli (2007). "Human Rights and Structural Adjustment". New York: Cambridge

University Press.• Barsh, R. (1993). “Measuring Human Rights: Problems of Methodology and Purpose.” Human Rights Quarterly

15: 87-121.• Chauhan, O.P. (2004). Human Rights: Promotion and Protection. Anmol Publications PVT. LTD. ISBN

81-261-2119-X• Forsythe, David P. (2000). Human Rights in International Relations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

International Progress Organization. ISBN 3-900704-08-2• Forsythe, Frederick P.(2009, Encyclopedia of Human Rights (New York: Oxford University Press)• Landman, Todd (2006). Studying Human Rights. Oxford and London: Routledge ISBN 0-415-32605-2• Robertson, Arthur Henry; Merrills, John Graham (1996). Human Rights in the World: An Introduction to the

Study of the International Protection of Human Rights. Manchester University Press. ISBN 0-7190-4923-7.• Gerald M. Steinberg, Anne Herzberg and Jordan Berman (2012). Best Practices for Human Rights and

Humanitarian NGO Fact-Finding. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers / Brill ISBN 9789004218116• Steiner, J. & Alston, Philip. (1996). International Human Rights in Context: Law, Politics, Morals. Oxford:

Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-825427-X• Shute, Stephen & Hurley, Susan (eds.). (1993). On Human Rights: The Oxford Amnesty Lectures. New York:

BasicBooks. ISBN 0-465-05224-X

External links• United Nations: Human Rights (http:/ / www. un. org/ rights/ )• UN Practitioner's Portal on HRBA Programming (http:/ / www. hrbaportal. org) UN centralised webportal on the

Human Rights-Based Approach to Development Programming• Simple Guide to the UN Treaty Bodies (http:/ / www. ishr. ch/ guides-to-the-un-system/

simple-guide-to-treaty-bodies) (International Service for Human Rights)• Country Reports on Human Rights Practices (http:/ / www. state. gov/ j/ drl/ rls/ hrrpt/ ) U.S. Department of State.• International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) (http:/ / ictj. org/ )• The International Institute of Human Rights (http:/ / www. iidh. org)• IHRLaw.org (http:/ / www. ihrlaw. org) International Human Rights Law – comprehensive online resources and

news• Human rights (http:/ / www. dmoz. org/ Society/ Issues/ Human_Rights_and_Liberties/ ) at the Open Directory

Project

Article Sources and Contributors 24

Article Sources and ContributorsHuman rights  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=544357555  Contributors: 10metreh, 24.251.118.xxx, 3Juno3, 4lex, 9258fahsflkh917fas, A little insignificant, ARUNKUMARP.R, Aao2107, Aar-bro, AaronSw, Aasgaard, Abelass, AbsolutDan, Abu Murtad, Abueno97, Aca Srbin, Acalamari, Adam McMaster, Adamsneyd, Adashiel, Addi-1690, Addihockey10,Addshore, AdiJapan, AdultSwim, Advisor5, Aeonx, Aetheling, Aeusoes1, Ahering@cogeco.ca, Ahoerstemeier, Aille, Airconswitch, Airplaneman, Aitias, Aj00200, Alan Liefting, Alananellie,Alansohn, Alarics, Alarm, AlasdairEdits, Ale jrb, Alex756, AlexJP, Alexemanuel, AlexiusHoratius, Alexthe5th, Alienus, Aliyosufi, Allstarecho, Almafeta, Almagor35, Alpha Quadrant (alt),AlphaEta, Alsandro, Altenmann, Altermike, AnakngAraw, Anarchia, Ancheta Wis, Andeggs, Andonic, Andre Engels, Andres, Andrew c, Andrwsc, Andy M. 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Image Sources, Licenses and Contributorsfile:HumanRightsLogo.svg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:HumanRightsLogo.svg  License: Copyrighted free use  Contributors: Antonu, Bencmq, CommonsDelinker,Magasjukur2, Shizhao, Shyc2001, Torana, VIGNERON, WhiteWriterFile:London 307.JPG  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:London_307.JPG  License: GNU Free Documentation License  Contributors: Dcastor, Foroa, Mmcannis,Tano4595, سندباد

Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors 25

image:English Bill of Rights of 1689.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:English_Bill_of_Rights_of_1689.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Parliament of theUnited KingdomFile:EleanorRooseveltHumanRights.png  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:EleanorRooseveltHumanRights.png  License: Public Domain  Contributors:CommonsDelinker, Docu, Ecummenic, Ediacara, JdH, Kbolino, Knightedg, Temporaluser, Väsk, 2 anonymous editsFile:UN human rights organisational chart.png  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:UN_human_rights_organisational_chart.png  License: Public Domain  Contributors:The Office of the High Commissioner for Human RightsImage:UN General Assembly hall.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:UN_General_Assembly_hall.jpg  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 2.0 Contributors: Patrick Gruban, cropped and downsampled by PineImage:White mans burden the journal detroit.JPG  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:White_mans_burden_the_journal_detroit.JPG  License: Public Domain Contributors: Kintetsubuffalo, Ras67, Thuresson, Travb, 2 anonymous editsImage:Fgm map.gif  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Fgm_map.gif  License: Attribution  Contributors: afrol News. Always cite afrol News as the source when the map isreproduced.

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